First off let me apologize for not searching becuase im sure this tpoic is quite popular but im short on time....i was driving today on the interstate going about 65-70 and hit a series of smaller pot holes and all of a sudden my front end started shaking so bad that the change in my ash tray was jumping out all over the place....it almost pulled me into the semi truck directly next to me and i had to spike the brakes almost causing the person behind me to rear end me at 65 mph....needless to say i honestly thought that was it....my time came.....but anyways i slowed down to about 45 and it stopped....i continued to drive to the next exit and hit another bump and this time it was worse....so bad that my steering wheel is now a good 2 inches off because my allighnment is now out...i cant avoid the highway due to the fact of work, but i also know the dealership is just going to play a guessing game and i wont feel confident even if they say its fixed because honestly this scarred the living crap out of me....is there a definate problem or am i gonna have to deal with the dealer tellin me it could be shocks, ball joints, tires bushings and everything else they can drain outta me? any help very soon would be greatly appreciated because this thing has to get fixed....thanks in advance!!!

 

also its a stock truck as far as suspension and tire size....also if anyone had this fixed....what kinda beatin is it gonna take on my wallet...

 

Countermaker, you didn't give the year model, but my 2005 has the same problem. I just ordered dual steering stabilizers and will be installing them this weekend. did you get the letter from Ford advising to check tire inflation?

Terry

 

Well right away it sounds to me like you may be confusing the death wobble with an alignment issue.

You said you hit a series of pot holes and now you steering wheel is off a "good 2 inches".

So do you actually have the death wobble or just a syptom of that caused by a now alignment problem caused by bad roads?

I would advise getting a alignment and then go from there.

beefier steering stabilizers will cure the death wobble for most people

 

im sorry....its a 2006 with the 5.4.....yes i did get the letter, but i dont remember reading it, my dad told me today about it and this is the first im hearing of this so called letter...i really appreciate the responses and advice....im gonna try and get it alligned tomorrow sometime during work....my truck has 71k miles on it and this is the first incident....so im hoping its an easy inexspensive fix....if not i guess this sort of thing was bound to happen eventually...thanks again fellas

 

dual steering stabilizers will fix it if it is truely a death wobble. Alignment first then go from there.

 

Have your Ford dealer or mechanic fully inspect your front end to confirm that all your front end components are torqued to spec and not worn or damaged from the "DW". They will do this anyway before the alignment (or should).The "DW" can happen on a low or higher mileage truck but typically occurs on the later. The majority of them can be a compound of several worn, wearing or misadjusted items or simply just one. Steering stabilizer, shocks, tires, ball joints etc... You could replace and/or adjust anyone of them and it may minimize or eliminate it.

After the alignment repairs ect.. get yourself a quality steering stabilizer single or dual to replace the stock crapper. If at 70+k and you haven't by now, consider investing in shocks and tires If these are the stocker's. The tires, shocks and stabilizer are your biggest issues and depending on your driving habits and terrain i wouldn't be surprised if the ball joints are on their way out.

 

well i had my truck at the dealer all day while i was at work and everything is sound up front....they said there was no play in anything.....welll this is were it gets kinda embarrassing and if this is a possibility im actually quite pissed...well they told me my tire pressure was way low....well when i had new tires put on they put the psi at what was on the door....for the record, i dont pay much attention to what they are doing even tho i should ... i make counter tops, i know very little bout this kinda stuff...but anyways i went and got my oil changed a couple weeks back and they said my tires psi was way too high...so they dropped it down to what the tire said and that was 35 psi....i think the dorr reccomends 70? well when i got the truck back today they informed me that my tires were not LT (light truck) tires, instead thay are P (passenger) tires....they are uniroyal liberator AT...can this actually be a possibility of what happened

 

You have the wrong tires for a SD truck. Who ever sold you the tires should know not to put a P rated tire on a truck. 35 psi is way too low for our trucks on the highway.

 

You're gonna be screwed with those tires, in more ways than one, but just FYI there is a TSB on the issue:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/tsb/full...hp?tsb=05-22-1

 

Don't let anybody BS u. I have experienced the death wobble in 2 05 super duties and the both had the load range e tires with 80 psi in them. Its not your tires even though u are a running grossly underrated set. New e tires and the proper preasure and u will still have more of the same hair raising death woble. Ford needs to install a new stabilizer which they mount in a new position and put new shimes in which set caster and or camber and realign your truck. If it is a king ranch they must install a new steering wheel for some reason and the death wobble will be gone. Ford really sucks in this regard and they should recall all 05 to 07 trucks as they are all death traps and should be banned from the road.






if it is a king ranch

 

ya i guess ill just wait and see if it happens again....what more can i do....its just odd it happened a few weeks after they dropped the air pressure in my tires to 35 psi...

 

Let's not get back into the Ford bashing on this one again. If you want Ford to recall all these trucks you might as well ask the government to bail them out like GM and Chrysler. Granted this is a design flaw but do what you can on your own. Its not big money to resolve and you will be happy with the ride and you get your "piece of mind" back.

The OP's tires in themselves may not be the one specific item causing the "DW" but i'll bet any money on it that they are compounding the problem.

KS, is "YOUR" truck still on the road?

 

Let's not get back into the Ford bashing on this one again. If you want Ford to recall all these trucks you might as well ask the government to bail them out like GM and Chrysler. Granted this is a design flaw but do what you can on your own. Its not big money to resolve and you will be happy with the ride and you get your "piece of mind" back.

The OP's tires in themselves may not be the one specific item causing the "DW" but i'll bet any money on it that they are compounding the problem.

KS, is "YOUR" truck still on the road?

 

Well pardner new tires are in your future. Soon. Got 17s or 18s? In any case a good set of Michelins will fix that. Also as stated above a dual steering stabilizer set up should take of any future concerns. If you still have the OE shock absorbers get them replaced too.